Tuesday, June 2, 2009

As sale looms, Rams fans can do their part

If the Rams eventually move from St. Louis, it won't be because of the fans.The customers have stayed loyal during hard times, buying up about 95 percentof the seats at the Edward Jones Dome over the last two seasons. That'soutstanding support for a team that has won only five of the last 32 games.

With the franchise for sale, which opens up all sorts of possibilities, thebest thing Rams fans can do is stick by the team and continue to attend gamesuntil help arrives.

That way, no Rams owner will have an excuse to pull the team out of herebecause of a lack of support. And with sellout crowds filing into home games,perhaps this will rally the business community and motivate potential buyersfrom the St. Louis area.

There's no reason for fans to get mad or to boycott, just because owners ChipRosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez have decided to sell. Yes, this happened fasterthan I had anticipated, but I'm in no position to understand the financialpressures (taxes) that confront brother and sister as they settle the estate oftheir late mother, Georgia Frontiere.

Rosenbloom was always straightforward about his vision. He never denied that hewould sell the team at some point. But rather than sell immediately afterFrontiere's death, Rosenbloom and Rodriguez took time to reorganize the Rams'front office and football operations. They've installed new leadership in bothareas, and it was the necessary first step of a massive rebuilding project.

Rosenbloom has said often that he wanted to keep the Rams for as long as hecould, but he never put a timetable on it. He didn't actively shop the Rams inhis first year as the managing partner but volunteered that he'd sell if theright buyer emerged. And that buyer profile included a willingness to keep theRams here.

To that end, Rosenbloom gave an individual or group in St. Louis the first shotat buying the team. Rosenbloom held off interested parties from outside St.Louis; he hoped that a St. Louis bidder would make an offer.

But it's not happening. And after waiting in vain for more than a year,Rosenbloom has enlisted the Goldman Sachs investment banking firm to find abuyer.

I've received some e-mails ripping Rosenbloom for not sticking with the Ramsfor as long as it takes to find a St. Louis-based owner.

What do you expect him to do, take hostages at the next Civic Progress meetingand force St. Louis corporate titans to buy the Rams?

If no local interest materializes, then the decision has been made forRosenbloom. If no financial players from our area think it's worthwhile to buy60 percent of the Rams to preserve the team for St. Louis — well, there's notmuch more to say, is there?

St. Louis leadership still has time to prepare a pitch, but no ZIP codes willbe barred from bidding on the Rams now. It's possible for a Los Angelesbillionaire to swoop in and make an offer that Rosenbloom can't refuse. Theother reality is that a new owner will probably be able to take the team out ofSt. Louis after the 2014 season.

But this hasn't changed: Rosenbloom wants to sell to owners who want to keepthe franchise here and work on a long-range stadium plan.

OK, here's what I don't understand:

St. Louis fans love their sports. We're passionate about the Cardinals, Ramsand Blues, who receive tremendous support. You can make the case — sadly, in away — that this is the thing we do best. There are problems all over themetropolitan area, and all sorts of people out of work or suffering in a badeconomy, but we keep showing up en masse to Busch Stadium, the Edward JonesDome and the Scottrade Center. You can count on STL fans to give you theirmoney, their loyalty.

So why is it that the owners of St. Louis professional sports teams are basedin other cities and regions? Bill DeWitt (Cardinals) lives in Cincinnati; DaveChecketts (Blues) splits his time between Utah and Connecticut; and Rosenbloomand Rodriguez live in LA.

With St. Louis thriving as a sports town, and with our sports teams serving asa big source of pride and positive identification for our city, why can't weget a St. Louisan to actually own one of the teams?

It just seems bizarre to me. For more than a year, Rosenbloom has all butbegged for a St. Louis investor or group to make him an offer for the 60percent share of the Rams, and this is what he hears in response:

(Crickets chirping) ...

That's why I hope that the great fans of St. Louis continue to pack The Ed forthe Rams in 2009. That's how you can do your part until a new local owner ridesto the rescue.